The Eagles would not confirm or deny if the team has plans to interview Coughlin, but I would say they do. “There’s just something about it that attracts me to it. If I could, I would like to be here”. And his overall body of work with the Giants proves he is the right man to restore order to a wayward franchise, the way he did to the Giants 12 years ago. The Browns knocked out two more coaching interviews on Sunday, first meeting with Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott and then Cincinnati offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. In what has shaped up as a very mediocre head-coaching market, he is by far the best candidate in the lot.
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Meanwhile, the Eagles will talk to a more experienced candidate this week: Former Giants coach Tom Coughlin.
“Obviously, the past three years have not been what any of us expect, and as head coach, I accept the responsibility for those seasons”, he said. The Giants gave permission for Coughlin to interview with their NFC East rival. In his resignation speech Coughlin spoke about the importance of relationships.
If the Eagles have identified Pederson as their No. 1 choice – and there is growing speculation that Andy Reid’s protégé will be the one to succeed Chip Kelly – the team would have to wait until the Chiefs were eliminated from the playoffs before anything official could be done. He said multiple times that he would return to coaching if the situation was “right”. When we lose, I lose. Coughlin has 45-plus years of coaching experience. Coughlin’s disciplined and demanding coaching style combined with a human side of his personality in recent years that endeared him to his players. “He’s going to be straight blunt with it, he’s not going to sugarcoat anything, he’s going to keep it original and that’s what he did”.
In 20 seasons as a head coach, Coughlin produced 10 winning records, nine playoff runs and a regular-season record of 170-150 (12-7 in the postseason). In Jacksonville he guided the team to the AFC Championship Game in only their second year of existence, and returned there four years later.
Coughlin came to the Giants in 2004 after Jim Fassel was sacked. But for the first time since they began their search for a new head coach, they met with a Super Bowl victor. Those speculating over whether the interview with Coughlin was to gather more information about Bob McAdoo, who the team interviewed last week, would likely be changing their tune if this development was true.
Known for his stringency and attention to detail, Coughlin was widely beloved by Giants fans around the country.
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During the last two decades, he’s earned respect as one of the NFL’s great coaches.
